Ha Noi (August 15, 2017) – Diva Hong Nhung and MC Phan Anh are urging the public to reject consumption of rhino horn in the recent Public Service Announcement (PSA) entitled Tacky Man, released by Education for Nature – Vietnam (ENV).

The “Tacky Man” PSA features a wannabe celebrity at a red carpet event, who is “trying hard” to look successful and fit in with the A-list guests. He displays a rhino horn and mistakenly thinks he will get the public’s attention. However, he is being completely ignored as the cameras and attention are, in fact, focused on the arrival of famous MC Phan Anh. The PSA ends with Diva Hong Nhung’s message “Rhino horn doesn’t impress anyone.”

Vietnam has become one of the leading rhino horn consumer markets where it is believed to be a magic medicine to cure various ailments and used as a status symbol. Even though Vietnam’s last rhino was hunted to extinction in 2010, the demand for rhino horn in Vietnam has resulted in the continuous killing of rhinos thousands of kilometers away in South Africa, the country with the largest population of rhinos in the world.

In 2016, 1054 rhinos were poached for such demands. Since 2013, more than one thousand rhinos have been killed each year in South Africa (Save the Rhino International). This represents an eightfold increase compared to the 13 rhinos poached in 2007, just 10 years ago. According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, if poaching continues to increase at current rates, rhinos could be extinct by 2026.

“I had a chance to visit Kruger National Park in South Africa, where I witnessed the massacre of rhinos to meet consumer demand,” says Hong Nhung. “The shocking image of a bloated and bloody rhino with its horn and ear hacked off (to prove the authenticity of the horn), which was left to rot by a stream urges me to tell the public that rhino horn is not impressive at all, but brutal and shameful, and that we need to stop now.” Hong Nhung went on to emphasize, ”Rhino horn is made of keratin, similar to buffalo. Using rhino horn results in the senseless slaughter of rhinos just to make a few people feel special.”

Mrs. Nguyen Phuong Dung, Director of Consumer Demand Reduction campaigns at ENV, elaborated on the motivation behind the use of rhino horns, “People feel special, using a small piece of rhino horn in Vietnam, without making the connection that their purchase fuels the continued killing of rhinos and puts money into the hands of criminals that traffic illegal wildlife. This is a misguided form of pride,” says Mrs. Dung. “We can only be proud by taking action to protect rhinos, by rejecting rhino horns, and letting consumers know how foolish they appear for thinking that the use of rhino horn makes them special in any way.”

ENV’s latest PSA is part of a broader campaign by ENV aimed at promoting awareness and urging the public to take an active stance and help bring an end to the rhino horn trade.

ENV lists three ways that people can help:• Do not consume or use rhino horn• Learn about the crisis facing global rhino populations and help educate others• Report any observations of trafficking, advertising, selling, or consumption of rhino horn to ENV through our toll-free Wildlife Crime Hotline 1800-1522

If you have information about Vietnamese nationals involved in trafficking of rhino horns from Africa or other countries, we want to know!

The PSA will be broadcasted on both national and provincial TV channels throughout Vietnam in the coming months, and can be watched online at ENV’s YouTube channel

ENV would also like to thank national and provincial TV channels, MobiTV, VTC Digital, and Sen Communications for airing the PSA and enabling this important message to reach millions of people across Vietnam.

Watch other ENV rhino PSAs at the following links:An uneducated gift: People who buy or use rhino horn embarrass themselves and their countryRolls Royce rhino man: illustrating the folly of purchasing rhino horn to demonstrate wealth or status.Hong Nhung Rhino Crime Scene: featuring ENV Rhino Ambassador diva Hong Nhung who urges the public not to consume rhino hornThe Sickening Truth: the horrific consequences of the increasing demand for illegal rhino horn